The effects of shoreface nourishments on and scoters in The Netherlands

International audience ; The coast of The Netherlands is protected by nourishing sand. Generally, two different techniques are used, beach nourishment and shoreface nourishment. The latter technique supplies sand at a water depth of about 5 to 8 metres in the surf zone, and has been used on a regular basis since 1997 with increasing volumes since 2001. Observations on the bivalve mollusc that was abundant before 1997 and a key food species for wintering seaduck show a decline since 2001. This coincided with a decrease in the abundance of the Common Scoter , the most numerous wintering seaduck... Mehr ...